Last Week, Audi celebrated their all-new Audi Q3 in Nashville, TN as a part of their nationwide culinary dinner series PROOF. The pop-up dinner was curated by the James Beard Foundation “Outstanding Chef in America” winner Ashley Christensen, who owns several restaurants throughout North Carolina including a pizza spot, a southern fried chicken restaurant, a bar and more.
Ashley Christensen and Ann Marshall.
Alongside Ashley were James Beard Foundation fellows Joanne Canady-Brown, owner of The Gingered Peach in Lawrenceville, NJ, and “Outstanding Wine” semifinalist Ann Marshall who owns High Wire Distilling Co. in Charleston, SC.
Audi is a proud partner of the James Beard foundation, a non-profit culinary arts organization dedicated to educating and supporting aspiring culinary students with the help of established chefs and industry professionals. Ashley was nominated and won the award in 2019 for her Raleigh-based eatery Pooles’ Diner.
Dinner started with a cocktail hour consisting of special drinks created by distillery owner Ann Marshall who used gin and bourbon to concoct a combination of citrus-laced refreshers. Ashley whipped up a delicious dinner that included three main courses. Dishes varied from crab and grits to roasted ribeye and sweet corn. Finally, A sweet, strawberry rhubarb pie was served for desert by bakery owner Joanne Canady-Brown.
When asked what the key ingredient in the ladies’ success was, their answers were nothing short of motivational.
“The strong folks who I work with every day. A long time ago, I learned to listen to and not be threatened by the things I don’t know. To be able to look for the strengths in those who surround me. Nothing to me is more empowering than the things that my team knows that I don’t know” said Ashley.
“Just being true to our roots and not compromising our quality” said Joanne.
“Working smart and not hard. Figuring out early on that you should hire people who know things that you don’t. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. There
Joanne Canady-Brown.
are people out there that have incredible experience. So, don’t be intimidated. It’s still your company” said Ann.
The night was not only meant to highlight Audi’s newest car model, but it was also meant to celebrate women. Similar to nearly every major industry, female representation in food can easily be overlooked because of the large number of male chefs dominating the culinary industry. These three women are just a few of the female chefs involved with the James Beard Foundation and 3 of the 20% of women that make up the chefs and head cooks in the U.S.
Stacey Carroll, the Director of Women’s Programs at the James Beard Foundation, expressed the importance of empowering women in the industry.
“We want to empower women in a way in which we’re not just saying it’s good to do things for women, but to actually give credibility, finances and education to women. We’re saying we’re going to open these doors for you and hold your hand through this. We’re going to hope that you hold other women’s hands through this and in the last 3 years that’s exactly what we’ve done” Stacey explained.
Audi continues to collaborate with the James Beard Foundation by introducing a new scholarship called the Audi Drive Progress Scholarship. The scholarship is to be awarded to local women in different cities who are students pursuing a career in the culinary industry.
